FEBRUARY 15, 1958

REDDING, Calif.—It appears that Congress is thinking of changing the entrance facade of the Capitol
in Washington, D.C.

And on this subject a communication has come to me saying that the east front of the
building has become during the past 150 years "a symbol of our national growth and
spirit not only to Americans but to all peoples as well...Any threat to destroy or
impair such an irreplaceable symbol must, therefore, be viewed as a major catastrophe."

Of course, these changes would be made in the interest of providing more space. But
there are many other ways of giving our lawmakers this needed space and there are
those, interested in beauty and historic interest, who are bitterly opposed to any
changes to the east front of the Capitol.

The reasons for the change may sound plausible, but all previous suggestions have
been defeated. And though this latest suggestion has gone further than any other,
I hope that in the end it will be defeated, too.

The American Institute of Architects has adopted three resolutions opposed to the
remodeling of the Capitol, which was designed by three gifted architects—Dr. William
Thornton, Benjamin H. Latrobe and Charles Bulfinch—and approved by Presidents Washington
and Jefferson

The National Trust for Historic Preservation and the Society of Architectural Historians
have opposed changes to the Capitol building, pointing out that there are other ways
of getting the needed space.

The Architectural Forum has estimated that if the present plans are carried out, only
a few hearing rooms and additional restaurant space will be provided and that the
cost will be $200 a square foot, which "is close to four times the costliest working
space ever erected." This, the Forum adds, is "a high price to pay for a project which
will ruin the beauty of a national shrine."

I hope many people will write in protest of this proposed desecration of the national
Capitol.

I went to the headquarters of Wisdom Magazine Wednesday to receive an award that had
been held there for me for some time and met the staff of this interesting publication.

Until I sat in the editor's office I had not realized in what illustrious company
I had been placed as one of the magazine's cover personalities, for Professor Will
Durant had been chosen to follow me in the series the magazine was publishing. Professor
Durant was kind enough to join us on Wednesday, which I felt was a great honor.

To reach the Wisdom Magazine office, you have to climb two flights of stairs. And
to sugar-coat this climb, there is a sign at the top reading: "The way to Wisdom is
a long, hard climb, but the rewards are eternal."

Later in the afternoon my son James' three children were brought from Pasadena by
their mother to see me, and my great-granddaughter, Julianna, also came in with her
mother. So several generations had the pleasure of meeting. And James' boys had the
exceptionally interesting opportunity of meeting Ted Lawson, who was in the flight
with our Air Force group that bombed Hiroshima.

Mr. Lawson brought along his wife and one daughter and obligingly added to the tales
of foreign lands which I already had begun to tell.

In the evening I spoke at a dinner, which went on for a long time, and although I
was asked to attend a reception later for Otto Frank, father of the little girl who
wrote "Ann Frank's Diary," I thought it would keep me out too late, considering the
fact that I had to leave early Thursday morning by plane for San Francisco.

I understand that Mr. Frank is arranging for a movie to be made of the play which
was adapted from the book and that the money will be used to build a home in Israel
for girls of his daughter's age. This must be some consolation to a man who lost so
much through the brutality of man against his fellowman.